Ominous Spirits
by dpunk3
Summary: L has died. Where has he gone? None other than the Soul Society. It appears that there are mysteries there as well. Looks like L has more work to do, even after death.
1. He Sees All EviL, Hears All EviL, but

A/N: Stuck on The Life of an ODST, so I'm gonna write some of this in the meantime, to feel some sense of accomplishment. So, enjoy the first chapter of Ominous Spirits. This is a mix of Death Note, and Bleach, tying into when L died. He went to Soul Society, and this is supposed to be his first day here. Like, he just arrived. But I'm going to start with Toshiro's point of view.

_Chapter 1: He Sees All EviL, Hears All EviL, but Speaks No EviL_

Toshiro walked the corridor with Matsumoto to the scene of the crime. Captain class shinigami had been called every day to look at scenes such as this. After everyone left to fight Aizen, rebels thought it would be a good time to strike against the shinigamis. Vandalism, fights, pillaging, it had all been seen. However, this case was different. This was the murder of a shinigami. Now, it may have been a low level shinigami, but still, for a civilian to kill ANYONE who was a shinigami had to be strong spiritually. Toshiro had to watch his back. The only person he knew who had enough latent spiritual energy to kill a soul reaper before even entering the academy was himself.

"What to do...." he said to himself.

"I'm sorry, captain? Did you say something?" Matsumoto chimed in. Toshiro looked over his shoulder to her, gave her the evil eye, then looked forward again.

"I said 'What to do about you not paying attention'" He responded, slightly aggravated. They continued walking forward, until the clear view of a building could be made out, crawling with guards, some of the 12th squads research department, analyzing the scene, and a small group of civilians as well. Toshiro walked up to the first guard on post, and nodded as he moved to the side, allowing the young captain access. Toshiro walked to the first analyst he saw, and began his investigation. "Hey, what happened here? Did you turn up anything good?" As he finished speaking, the analyst turned around and stood up, facing him, but slightly above his standard. Toshiro now had to look up to talk to him. Toshiro made a grumble of anger, showing his frustration about his height.

"Nothing of importance yet, captain." The technician said, trying to calm the boy by reminding him of his own higher rank. "We found a couple of things that we're planning on taking back to the lab. We took some samples of the blood on the shinigami's sword."

"So he managed to get a hit off on him, huh?" Toshiro said as he looked at the tip of the dead shinigami's zanpakuto. "Did you find anything else." He asked as he looked up to the analyst.

A strand of brown hair under the victim's nail." He answered. "Nothing else. We're gonna take these back to the lab to run some tests on them and, when you get a suspect, compare them."

"Good. But first, we need a suspect. And that's gonna be hard without some kind of lead. Did you find any reishi left behind?" Toshiro asked.

"Not a single particle." The analyst replied.

"How is the possible, for someone with a high enough spirit energy to kill, or even harm, a shinigami, and not leave anything behind. What the hell is going on?" Toshiro paused and looked around. "Maybe there's something around here that will lead us to someone." Toshiro continued to look around, for something he could use to generate a possible suspect. With nothing in sight, he let out a growl everyone heard. "Ah, jeese, what the hell can we use here? There is nothing!" He yelled.

"Not quite." A voice came from behind. Toshiro looked behind to see a man of about 19, no, maybe 20, with black hair, and what looked like black eyeliner under his eyes, but he couldn't tell if that's what it really was, or if he hadn't slept in days. He wore a white shirt and worn blue jeans, and slouched so much it hurt Toshiro's back just looking at him. Toshiro didn't know what to make of him at first, but what he said struck at his interest portion of his mind.

"What did you say?" Toshiro asked.

"If I may." The man said, hinting at the question if he could walk over the civilian line to the crime scene. Toshiro looked at Matsumoto, who had nothing to say, then turned back to the guard nearest the man, who was now looking at him, also looking for an answer.

"Alright, fine, come on." Toshiro said, reluctant to allow a civilian into the scene. The man smiled slightly, and walked forward to Toshiro. "But hey, don-" As Toshiro was beginning to warn the man of contaminating anything, the man passed him without a hint of recognition. As he passed an analyst who was holding an evidence bag, he grabbed said bag out of the analysts hand, and a pair of tweezers from another analyst, and walked over to a tree. Toshiro looked at Matsumoto again, then walked to the tree the man was inspecting, and saw something on the branch. A small fiber, probably from a shirt, left as the killer tried to get away from the scene. The man plucked it ever so lightly from the branch, and placed it in the evidence bag.

"I'd be willing to bet that this was a hasty crime, not well planned. Otherwise, the suspect would have either a) moved along the streets, or b) the killer wouldn't have ran away from the scene, because then it would draw too much suspicion from onlookers.

"How do you know the killer ran from the scene?" Toshiro asked.

"Then the cloth wouldn't have ripped. The suspect had to have enough motion to rip the cloth without him noticing. If he had been walking, then the killer would have noticed the branch caught his clothes-"

"An freed it before it ripped." Toshiro said. "I see."

"And I would be willing to bet that...." The man walked into the forest, Toshiro following. The man walked for about 10 feet before stopping. Toshiro looked around.

"What is it?" Toshiro asked.

"It rained last night." The man said.

"Yea, so?" Toshiro responded. The man moved to the side to reveal a muddy shoe print on the ground. Toshiro's eyes beamed. He yelled over to the crime scene itself. "Get someone over here to make a plaster cast of this!" He yelled. Toshiro looked at the man. "Who are you? And how did you know about both the cloth and the shoeprint?" Toshiro asked.

"My name is L. When I was alive, I was a detective, the worlds greatest detective in fact. I saw the cloth on the branch, and I didn't know about the shoeprint, I figured that since it had rained last night, and the killer traveled through the forest, he would have left some shoe print behind. Looks like I was right." Toshiro looked at him, carefully.

"Would you mind helping with this case? You have a keen eye for noticing things. Besides, way more crimes happen in the world of the living than here, your help would benefit us greatly." Toshiro asked. L smiled again.

"A chance to do what I love? How could I deny that?" L replied. As the two looked at each other, they knew they were in for a bumpy ride.


	2. Profiling

A/N: Been working on this one for a while, sorry guys. I have been trying to incorporate like 4 things into this story at once, and trying to keep them in there discretely so I can further incorporate on them later. Well, here you go, I present to you chapter 2 of Ominous Spirits.

_Chapter 2: Profiling_

Toshiro sat with L in the captains room, with Matsumoto sleeping on the couch. Toshiro picked up one of the many cannoli's L requested and threw it at the sleeping woman, who woke with a startle.

"Get back to work." Toshiro said bluntly. Matsumoto sat up, shaking off the drowsiness, then looked at the pile of papers on the desk in front of her. Toshiro looked back at L, who had a slightly anxious face, probably because he now had one less cannoli to enjoy. "Well?" Toshiro said. L looked back to the crime scene photos, and continued to inspect them.

"Nothing stand out exactly. Not yet, at least." L picked up a cupcake with two of his fingers, unwrapped the paper, then began eating it. He looked back at the photos, stopped slightly, then picked up one of them. The picture of the victims hand, with the perpetrators hair still lodged in his nail. L then placed his cupcake down, and picked up another photo, this one of the sword. He placed them side by side for comparison, then flipped between them both, then placed one behind the other, and alternated them rapidly.

"Stop it! The hell are you doing?" Toshiro said angrily. L looked at Toshiro.

"The sword. The person who wielded it was left handed." L responded.

"How can you tell?"

"There's a small mark of dirt on the right hand side of the hilt. If you were wielding the sword, it would be exactly where the thumb would be. But the sword in this picture is on the right hand."

"Was he ambidextrous?" Toshiro asked.

"Not that I can tell." Toshiro picked up the strand of hair, now in an evidence bag, then picked up the picture of the victim's hand, with the hair in the nail, again. "There's also no scalp in the nail. If the victim managed to get a piece of hair from the killer, with the root intact might I add, how did he manage to dodge the entire scalp?" L asked.

"There had to have been something taken off. More hair, skin, anything." Toshiro thought out loud. L looked at Toshiro, then in front of him. He put the tip of his index finger's nail in his mouth as he thought. Just then, a knock came to the door.

"Enter." Toshiro called. The door slid open, and everyone looked at the man at the door.

"Sir, we have some results from the lab."

"Of what?" Toshiro asked.

"The shoeprint, and the victim's name." The man replied. "The shoe style matched a shinigami's shoe."

"Probably of the victim." Toshiro said. L looked at the photo of the print in the mud.

"No, that doesn't make any sense, it's going the opposite direction, they must have gotten the same type of shoe." L said. Toshiro looked back at L.

"Shinigami's shoes are special ordered, maybe theirs was made in a similar fashion as the shoe of a shinigami." Toshiro looked to the man "Did you get any fibers from the print at the scene?"

"In fact, we did, and it was the same material as a shinigami's sandal." Toshiro looked to L, who looked at a picture of the victim.

"The victim had it's shoes. This doesn't make any sense." L said as he looked at Toshiro. Toshiro looked back at the man. "What about the victim?"

"Victim's name is Akane Hotaka, of Squad 12. He was one of the blood analysts."

"Did he have any active cases?"

"No."

"Then there's no motive there. Any past enemies?"

"Not that we can tell." The man gave Toshiro a file. "Here's his history, nothing stands out here." Toshiro opened the file, and looked it over for about 30 seconds before handing it to L, who repeated this action.

"What do you think?" Toshiro asked L.

"This guy is too ordinary." L responded.

"You think someone tampered with the file?" Toshiro asked.

"We can't rule out anything yet, but how could the killer have gotten into the system?" L asked.

"The only way would to have been there in person. But they would have been seen."

"Then it wouldn't have been possible. This guy's clean." L said disappointingly. Toshiro looked back at the man.

"Do we have any leads or suspects?" Toshiro asked.

"Not yet. We'll have the DNA results of the blood and hair in the morning." The man responded.

"Alright, thank you." Toshiro said. "You can go." The man bowed.

"Sir." The man slid the door shut, both Toshiro and L heard the thumps of footsteps get quieter and quieter as the man walked away.

"What now?" Toshiro asked. L looked at Toshiro.

"We wait."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice now do we?" Toshiro said. He looked over at Matsumoto, who was drooling over her papers. Toshiro reached to a cupcake, but L stopped him with a slight hand over his. Toshiro looked up to him, who had a nervous expression. Toshiro let go of the cupcake, and grabbed a blank paper, crumpled it up, and threw it at his sleeping lieutenant, who woke with another "eep!" "Get back to work, Rangiku." Toshiro said. Toshiro looked at L, who was concentrating on the pictures in front of him.

"We can generate a general list of suspects. Male, brown hair, about 5'4''- 5'5'', maybe 135 pounds, with the ability to wield a sword well, and a relatively high spiritual pressure, while also being able to control it." L looked to Toshiro, whose eyes told either confusion, and impression.

"How did you figure all that out? With the weight and everything? You basically outlined the entire suspect without anything coming back from the lab." Toshiro questioned.

"The shoe imprint here is from a size 10 shoe, meaning the culprit has to be around 5'5'', and 120- 145 pds. I went with 135 not only because it's safe, but also because the deepness of the imprint tells me it held about that amount of weight." L explained. Toshiro looked at him, highly impressed. Toshiro then looked to Matsumoto.

"Did you get all that?" He called.

"Yes sir...." She said, uneasily. She grabbed a notepad and walked out of the captains quarters. Toshiro turned back to L, then closed his eyes and sighed.

"Well, its been a long day, and you've done good. It's time for some rest." He opened his eyes and looked back at L, who had an interested look on his face. "Got anywhere to say?" He asked.

"Actually, I've only been here for two days. Last night I fell asleep under a bridge, next to a stream. It was quite relaxing, and not cold at all...." L slowly spoke softly and looked down. Toshiro looked at him, into his eyes and saw something. His eyes glimmered, as if tears were forming, but nothing was coming out. He couldn't tell what was on his mind, but it seemed to him like.... regret. Like he had something to finish, and couldn't do it. L snapped back, and finished his thought. "It gave me time to think. I enjoyed it, but I don't think I would want to do it tonight, its supposed to be cold." Toshiro looked at L with uncertainty, unsure what to make out of what he said, and what his expression said. Although he knew he was right, it was supposed to be a cold night.

"Alright, I guess.... I guess I'll have you at my place." Toshiro said. L looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya" Toshiro had a surprised look, he hadn't seen L smile since they met. Was it because he was sad? Or was never happy? Either way, it put some part of his mind at ease, but he was never gonna show it.

"Please, there's no need for formalities, technically, I'm not your captain. Call me Toshiro." Toshiro had a slight flush to him, he hadn't said that to anyone before, but he knew L needed someone in his new life, maybe he could give him that sense of friendship, if only for a little while. L looked at Toshiro with open eyes, and a slightly confused face. "Let's get going, I'm tired." Toshiro got up and walked towards the door. He looked back at L, and tried to get him out of the trance he seemed to be in. "L, come on, lets go!" L snapped back into reality, and began looking around.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about the case...." L responded.

"Right, well, come on, lets go." Toshiro said. L got up and began his awkward walk towards the door. He walked out the door, and as Toshiro turned off the lights, he asked the question he had wanted to ask for a while. "Hey, doesn't walking like that hurt?"


	3. A Chilly Summer Night, A Breezy New Day

A/N: This is becoming a habit of mine, the not updating that often thing. Sorry, been busy most weekends and school days, not to mention the 3 day long trip to New York I went on with my class, and the spring break I spent in my hometown of Cary North Carolina. But I'm back now! Oh, I'm moving back to North Carolina from Massachusetts around the end of July, so I'll try to fit one or two more chapters in there before I will be off for a while trying to unpack and get everything ready, so I won't have time to plan and write. I'll let you know when that last chapter comes around, or at least give another update. Oh, I am still looking for a beta reader, anyone whose interested PM me, and without further adue I present chapter 3 of Ominous Spirits.

_Chapter 3: A Chilly Summer Night, A Breezy New Day_

It was dark outside by now. Chilly in its wind, but easily forgotten by the warmth of the summer that slid in when the slight wind died down. The cherry blossom petals lined the wooden walkway to the houses of the young captain Hitsugaya, and as the two walked, L took notice of the many trees lining the forest entrance behind Toshiro's house. Toshiro stopped in front of his door and slid it open to reveal a small, empty room, save the mat in front of the door. Toshiro walked in and took off his shoes, then turned to L.

"You can take off your...." He looked down at L's bare feet. "Oh yea...."

"Something wrong?" L asked.

"No, it's nothing." Toshiro turned around and opened another set of doors. L followed, after shutting the front door, and walked into a decent sized room. Lightly furnished with a desk filled with scattered and stacked papers, a couch big enough for 3 people, as well as a small chair in the corner, and a decorative table on a carpet in front of the couch with a Narcissus flower in a small vase on the top. He looked around to see a large painting of an ocean with some boats on it, and a large wave rising over them, with a small mountain topped with snow off in the background. He immediately recognized this as the famous _Great Wave off Kanagawa _painting. L also noticed some pictures, some embarassing, of him and his lieutenant, as well as a young black haired girl he hadn't met before, although L thought Toshiro had no part in putting these pictures up, as they had been both super glued and nailed in place.

_ "Interesting tastes...."_ L thought. But he liked it. It felt.... homey.

"Make yourself at home." Toshiro said as he walked over to his desk to straighten up his scattered mess, as well as possibly completing some work he had to finish. He sat down and began as L made his way upstairs. L discovered 2 rooms, both seemed unused as the futons were laid out but hadn't been touched. There was also a small bathroom, with no apparent evidence of prolonged use.

_"Did he move in recently, or is he just that clean?" _L asked himself. The windows of Toshiro's home we're open, and allowed the breeze to flow through, while the silent ticking of the clock downstairs rang through the house.

L looked at the end of the hallway and saw another small door, what he guessed to be another closet. Still, wouldn't hurt to take a peek, he thought. He reached for the knob when the clock went off.

**"DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING, DING" **The sounds of the clock ran through the house.

"7 o'clock...." L quietly said to himself as he wondered whether to call it a night. It would be an interesting one, to say the least. No sounds of TV or computer keyboards clacking to fall asleep to, which he was most accustom to, he wondered if he could sleep without it. _"I'm sure I'll find a way" _L reached for the knob again and opened the door to reveal what he had least expected. A ladder. He looked up to see darkness, with a slight sliver of light coming from the ceiling. "_Mineaswell take a venture." _L climbed the ladder, once reaching the top poked the ceiling. It hopped a little. He pushed it up, and it opened to reveal the outside. L wondered why Toshiro had an access ladder to his roof, but it quickly slipped his mind when he looked around to see the scenery around him. Above, the clear starry night with the moon in full, beautiful gaze. Below, the light scent of booming cherry blossoms overtook the air, with the slight aroma of fresh grass in the distance, and the slight trickle of water from the bamboo fountain emanating from a small garden, with the click of the bamboo hitting being ever so silent. He climbed onto the roof, and off the ladder, and looked around. Even the presence of the house itself seemed complimentary to his current placement. L hadn't seen anything like this before, he was used to.... well.... the inside. He had spent most of his time either inside, or in big cities. Nature wasn't really his thing, and before, he didn't know how people could get used to such a thing. But with the dim lights of the house highlighting the trees, the hypnotic sound of the water, and the sky above, he could get used to this. L laid down on the roof, looking at the moon, the stars, and the trees, with astonishment.

_**A few hours later....**_

Toshiro awoke as he usually did, from the sound of the clock hitting twelve, head on desk, drooling on his papers. He picked his head up and quickly wiped the drool away with a slight flush, as he remembered he had a guest, and he didn't really know when L was gonna show up in random places. He looked around as he noticed L wasn't there, and began questioning where his newfound companion could be.

_ "Probably raiding my kitchen" _Toshiro thought as he angrily looked down. He got up, and walked to the door next to the stairs, and slid it open to reveal it had been exactly as he had left it the night before. Toshiro looked around questioningly, wondering where L could be. He turned to the stairs, and walked up. He peered in both rooms, and after seeing they had also been untouched, noticed the open door at the end of the hall. Toshiro smiled as he walked to the ladder, reminiscing on the fond memories he and Momo had on his roof. He looked up, and noticed the trapdoor open, so he climbed up, peered out, and looked around. He saw L, in a way he hadn't pictured him before. He was laying there, simply, but asleep. Smiling. Back straightened up, legs pulled out, Toshiro guessed L had to be at least 5'8". Although Toshiro knew it wasn't a good idea to sleep out where he was, L seemed so calm, and happy. Going to a new world in itself is hard, and Toshiro could tell that those were in fact bags under his eyes. He also knew firsthand how nice it would be to wake up in the morning, and what L would see. Toshiro got up on the roof, took off his jacket, and placed it on L. He figured it'd give him some warmth. Toshiro moved back to the opening, and grabbed the small chain attached to the wood, and started to pull as he went down the ladder. He heard L shift in his sleep as he dreamed. He thought he heard him say something, maybe along the lines of "Wasabi" or something, he couldn't tell.

"Dream well...." Toshiro said as he looked around, remembering all the times he and Momo had spent up here. He smiled as he climbed down the ladder, and into his actual bed, as opposed to the couch as he had the nights before. He only hoped L would dream better than Toshiro knew he would himself.

_**9 A.M....**_

L awoke to the chirping of birds, and the humming of the grass as the breeze blew over it. He picked his head up to look around, this time the trees being highlighted by the sun hovering behind him. His eyes looked around as a flutter of butterflies grouped off the flowers in the small garden below, and the birds chirped as they started gathering food for their young. L started to pick himself up, and noticed a white vest- like jacket on him, of which he recognized being Toshiro's. He smiled as he stood up, and felt the warm breeze through his hair as he stretched, cracking joints he didn't even know he had. He looked to see the tree's petals dancing about in the air. He picked up the jacket off the floor of the roof, and looked over to where the opening was, to see it had been shut the night before. He walked over to the door, lifted it up, then looked around again as he treasured this moment he would be likely to never see again. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then began his descent down the ladder.

Inside, L could hear the sound of water running, and heat as it emanated from underneath the bathroom door. L walked downstairs and into the kitchen and placed Toshiro's jacket on one of the chairs next to the table. He then walked over to the cabinets to find anything he could to eat.

_**Meanwhile**_

Toshiro sat in the shower, warm water trickling down his head and steam entering his nostrils, on his knees, trying to get the gruesome images out of his head. The same images that had been plaguing him every morning and night for the past 5 weeks. Of Aizen.... of stabbing him through the heart.... of Kurosaki's screams..... and Momo on his sword, her tears streaming out of her eyes.... _"__......shiro chan.......why.........__" _her voice grasping for impression as Toshiro held her in his arms, mortified. He grasped his head, crying, unsure of what to do. The sound of his cries drowned by the droplets of the shower hitting the floor.

_**Later....**_

When Toshiro exited the shower, he was greeted by the smell of freshly cooked bacon, and the simmer of eggs. He wondered if his guest had something to do with that. So he took a leave downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, he saw his table neatly set with 2 plates with eggs on them, 2 empty glasses, a plate of bacon, and a plate of biscuits. Toshiro stared at the table for a second before looking over to L, still cooking scrambled eggs.

"Hey." L turned around.

"Oh, hello. I'm not really much of a morning person, but I figured to thank you for your hospitality, I should do something." Toshiro looked at the table again, then back at L.

"I didn't even know I had eggs....." He replied monotone.

"Thats surprising, seeing as you had a full carton in there. How often do you cook?" L asked. Toshiro gave a blank stare. "Oh, I see."

"How about you? You seem to have this cooking thing down pact." Toshiro asked.

"Not quite, usually I have my food made by Watari......" L stopped and looked up, wide eyed. Toshiro cocked his head to the side.

_"Watari.... could that have been what he said?" _Toshiro said as he recalled the sleeping L mumbling in his sleep. "Whose Watari?" Toshiro asked, concerned. L turned his head slightly, only enough for Toshiro to see the ends of his eyelids, even that was mostly covered by his hair.

"Just a friend. You should probably get dressed." Toshiro's eyes shot open as he looked down, realizing he was still wearing his towel.

_"Guh! Oops!" _His mind yelled.

"Everything will be ready when you get down." L said as he looked back at his task. Toshiro looked at L for a moment, trying to figure him out. One minute he seemed almost.... happy. Now, he was unsure. Maybe it was this Watari. Who was he? Toshiro would have to look into this. Toshiro turned his body to face the door, still looking at L through his peripherals. He opened the door slowly and walked out, leaving with a **"CRACK" **of the sliding door. Toshiro walked upstairs and into the room to see his captains jacket on his newly made bed, the one he didn't make. He took off his towel and began to wipe clean his wet mop of white hair, of which he had been accused of dying. He walked over to the closet and pulled out his shihakusho, and, after putting it on, his captains jacket. He made his way downstairs for the food that he was actually looking forward to, and, upon entering, saw the food ready for consumption, just as L had said it would be by the time he got down. Toshiro walked over to the table and sat down, L already seated, and picked up his fork. It remained a quiet meal, seeing as both participants had something to rattle their minds with, between the case, personal problems, and future issues, they had a lot on their plate, metaphorically speaking. It didn't last long luckily, as both scarfed down their food as fast as possible, and left nothing but dishes, of which L promptly took to the sink. Toshiro leaned back in his seat and looked at L as he cleaned the plates they had just used.

"Thanks." He said bluntly. L paused, and looked back, then back at his task at hand.

"No problem, it was the least I could do." He replied, and although Toshiro couldn't see him, it seemed like he was smiling. Of course he had no way of telling for sure. Toshiro got up and walked to the door.

"We're leaving soon, got a lot of work to do on the case." Toshiro said. He walked through the door, leaving it open for L, who soon followed. Toshiro walked to the front door, put his shoes on, than faced the door. "It's been a while since I had anyone over.........." He paused slightly. ".............thanks." He continued with a voice quieter than he used before. It took L back. Toshiro turned around in time to hear L's response.

"Thank you....... Toshiro." L replied, beaming an incredible smile. That took Toshiro back. He smiled slightly, and opened the door behind him.

"Let's get that murderer." He said with determination as he walked outside, L close behind.

A/N: Please review, not many people are, and it kinda worries me.


	4. Initial Findings

A/N: Sorry guys, I know I'm a little late. My school sucks, I was forced to complete a 5 page research paper by going through a process of developing a topic, then a thesis statement, then an outline, then researching using credible sources, then writing the damn thing... NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO COLLEGE! Anyway, lets keep school out of this. I'm done with school for the year, sophomore year is gone and junior year approaches. Now for chapter 4 of Ominous Spirits.

_Chapter 4: Initial Findings_

Toshiro opened the doors of his office to see Matsumoto already asleep on the couch, her work still incomplete. He walked past her and into his chair, L followed with the initial investigation files in hand, and slammed them on the table, awaking Matsumoto up with a startle. She peered over the couch and to Hitsugaya.

"Your late Captain. Not like you, not like you at all." She said teasingly.

"Your on time." He responded impatiently. Matsumoto smiled than turned around to begin her work for that day... More sleeping. Meanwhile, Toshiro and L opened the files to examine the autopsy report, as well as the blood work from the scene, and other miscellaneous evidence gathered.

"The three main points of interest are the blood, the hairs found in the nail, although brought up to question, the torn cloth found near the scene, as well as the shoeprint, which matches the patterns of a shinigami's sandal." L started.

"The lab ran the blood work through their database, it doesn't match any shinigami that is currently enlisted." Toshiro responded.

"Meaning it's someone outside of Seireitei."

"But how is that possible? The sandal matched that of a shinigami and only a shinigami?" Toshiro asked.

"I would like to know that as well." L said. "You said the lab is currently comparing the shoe size and the calculated weight of the perpetrator through their database of previously convicted criminals, correct?"

"Yea, they said they'd have something in a few hours. In the meantime I wanna tackle the problems we are encountering. Why was the victim killed? Who could have had the spiritual power to kill another shinigami?"

"Another shinigami?" L asked. Toshiro stopped, and questioned.

"No, no other shinigami is on record to have been in that area of Rukongai at that time aside from him." Toshiro assured L.

"Was anyone near him?" Toshiro picked up a clipboard of shinigami who were patrolling the nearby area at the time of the crime.

"Two people. Squad 11 Reiru Kisagi and Squad 7 Oharu Mikami." Toshiro looked at L.

"Lets go question them. Where are they now?" L asked.

"As of now, they're both off duty. They are in Seireitei now, in their barracks."

"Let's go now, see if they saw anything." L suggested. Toshiro nodded.

"We'll have to split up. I'll question Oharu, you take Matsumoto and talk to Reiru." Toshiro got up and walked to the couch. "Get up Rangiku! Time to go." She groaned.

"Eh? Go where?" Matsumoto said, still half asleep. Toshiro walked out the door without the slightest hint that he heard what she had said. L got up, and walked to the door.

"Well?" He asked. She got up, still confused, and followed him out of the door. "Oh, yea, I'm gonna need your help. I don't know where the 11th Squad barracks are..."

…...

L and Matsumoto came close to the 11th Squad barracks. If Matsumoto wasn't there, L might not have made it. He knew this, not because he didn't know where he was going, but because L knew he wouldn't have stood a chance against any of the members of Squad 11. Or any Squad, for that matter. They came close to the barracks themselves before the duo was greeted by a deep voice, and a heavy spiritual pressure that could have only come from one Kempachi Zaraki.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" The overly large captain said impatiently. Matsumoto turned to him.

"We're here on orders of the Squad 10 captain."

"Eh? Captain Hitsugaya? What's he want with us?" He continued.

"Squad 10 is currently investigating the murder of a shinigami by the name of Akane Hotaka. We have reason to believe a witness to the murder is here." L replied.

"Who is this?" Kempachi said, irritated.

"I apologize. My name is L, I am an advisor to the 10th Squad captain."

"Alright, fine. Who is it your looking for?" Kempachi asked.

"Do you know a Reiru Kisagi?" Matsumoto asked.

"Yea, Reiru is right inside. Although to ease your minds I don't think he had anything to do with your murder. He doesn't seem entirely 11th Squad material."

"What do you mean?" L asked.

"I mean he's too much of a pussy." Kempachi replied bluntly. "He's too much of a snob. Belongs in Squad 6 in my opinion." He said as he looked away. L thought for a second before responding.

"Well, just for follow up purposes, would you mind if we questioned him anyway?"

"Sure, go ahead, I don't care. So long as your not wasting our time."

"Of course not." L said.

"Alright then, later." Kempachi said as he walked away. L turned to the large doors of the Squad 11 barracks, and stopped before proceeding in, thinking of a way to question Kisagi without him suspecting that he was under investigation. He looked up, then entered the barracks as the doors opened. Matsumoto entered first, to aquire the location of Kisagi from the bunk masters. After a few words, the two followed a shinigami until they came to a man they presumed to be Kisagi. At first sight, L and Matsumoto could tell why Kempachi said what he did about Kisagi. Kisagi appeared to be a middle aged man, with square rimmed glasses, and well trimmed hair. He looked almost like Ayasegawa in terms of facial features. Clear complexion, and a nice smile, as could be seen when the two greeted him.

"Hello" L started.

"Hi, how can I help you Mr..."

"L. This is Rangiku Matsumoto, we are here on behalf of the Squad 10 captain to ask you whether you saw anything suspicious while on your post 3 nights ago."

"Hmm... I don't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary. I did hear someone in the forest about 150 or so meters west of my location." Kisagi thought.

"Did you investigate the cause of the sound?" L asked.

"Yes, I didn't find anyone there. I figured it was an animal. Why? Did something happen that I should know about?" Kisagi asked.

"Well, the shinigami patrolling directly west of you was killed that night. We were wondering if there were any potential witnesses. You were the first on our list, since you were nearest." L said as he inspected Kisagi's facial expressions. Kisagi's eyes widened as his calm expression turned to fear.

"Oh... Wow... I can't believe that happened so close to me... Honestly I didn't see anything. If I did, of course, I would tell you. I just... I can't believe this happened..." Kisagi put his hand over his mouth and stared at the floor, still wide eyed.

"Don't worry about it. You said you didn't see anything, that's all we needed to know. Thank you for your time." L said. He turned around and started to walk away. Matsumoto looked back at L, relatively surprised, then turned back to Kisagi. He smiled, then bowed to her, she bowed back, then returned to L's side quickly.

"Umm, sir, why did you..."

"We'll talk about it later Rangiku." L said with his thumb nail in his mouth.

…...

Toshiro walked around Seireitei for a good half an hour while L questioned Kisagi. The Squad 7 barracks were pretty far away from the Squad 10 captain's room.

"I wonder if L's done by now..." Toshiro thought out loud. He saw the enlarged insignia of Squad 7, indicating he was near the barracks. _"Finally..."_ he thought. He continued walking until he was in front of the large doors. Seeing as how they were already open, he continued inside. He took out a sheet of paper with Mikami's picture on it and looked around. He eyed someone that looked relatively similar to the shinigami on the page, so he walked over to him.

"Oharu Mikami?" He asked. Mikami turned to face the boy.

"Oh! Captain Hitsugaya! Sir! H-h-how can I help you?" He said with tension in his voice.

"Calm down, your not in any trouble. I'm here to ask you about your shift 3 nights ago. Did you see anything unusual while you were there?" Toshiro asked.

"No sir, nothing comes to mind... Well, there was that kid."

"What kid?" Toshiro asked.

"A local. He looked to be about 19 or so. Brown hair, 5'5", maybe... 130 pounds?" Toshiro's eyes widened.

"You'll have to come with me to the squad room for us to get a sketch of that kid." Toshiro said.

"Of course. My shift doesn't start for another 3 hours."

…...

When Toshiro entered the room, Matsumoto was asleep, and L was at the table looking at more files.

"Shinsuhei Ayonama." Toshiro said with a smirk. L looked to him.

"Who?"

"Oharu Mikami said he saw a teenager running around near the crime scene on the night of his shift. He provided us with a sketch, the guy matches our description. His name is Shinsuhei Ayonama, he lives in District 2 of the West Rukongai." Toshiro continued. L got up and walked over to Toshiro. Toshiro handed L the file of Ayonama, and after inspecting it for a little while, looked back at Toshiro.

"Lets get him." L said.

A/N: Next chapter, interrogation of Ayonama. No, I did not realize it was the last name of Motoko from Love Hina when I was thinking of ideas, I just realized it when I was looking over my notes last night. Review if you liked, constructive criticism appreciated if you didn't. I have a lot of time on my hands so I should be able to write a new chapter soon, I already know what I'm going to write about so it shouldn't be too long from now. Hope you guys had a good school year, and happy summer!


	5. A Clear Suspect

A/N: I cannot apologize enough for the late chapter. Believe me, I do not plan on letting any of my projects die. I just haven't found the time (nor the ambition) to write any more prior to this release. Thank you to all who have subscribed and looked forward to this story, I hope to not let you down. Before I start let me say to Cheesecake, who reviewed my story (whose profile doesn't exist, therefore I cannot respond to her review in a message) that I know Toshiro is out of character, but for me to be able to have him and L grow closer for the aspects of my storyline I needed at least one character to be, seeing as how both of them are pretty closed off in their respective anime, one of them needed to take the initiative. And lastly, for anyone who wants to, ask me a question about the story(ies) or anything they want, I recently created a formspring to answer such questions. Ask and I will be happy to answer them .me/dpunk3. Again, any and all reviews are welcome.

_Chapter 5: A Clear Suspect_

Toshiro, L, and Matsumoto were led outside Seireitei into the western area of Rukongai. They prepared themselves mentally for anything to come when investigating Ayonama. His house wasn't far from the gate, maybe 6 or 7 residences further into the district. The house they approached was abnormal, given its surrounding district. It's gate opened to reveal a house that was at least a third the size of Captain Kuchiki's residence. Which meant it was pretty big. They were greeted by an old man, of about mid 50's to mid 60's.

"Hello, may I help you?" Asked the man. Toshiro looked to him, a little taken back by his age.

"Uuh, m- my name is Toshiro Hitsugaya, Squad 10 captain of the Gotei 13. We have some questions to ask Mr... Ayonama?" He asked.

"Yes, that is me..." He said with confusion in his voice.

"Am I to understand that your name is Shinsuhei Ayonama?" Toshiro asked.

"I am sorry, you have the wrong person. Shinsuhei is my grandson. He is in his room." replied the old man. Toshiro was slightly relieved, his suspect was still a possibility.

"May I speak with him sir?" asked Toshiro

"Might I ask what buisness a captain has with my grandson?" the old man inquired. Toshiro was unsure of what to say, he didn't want to tip off Shinsuhei, if he told the old man he might be able to warn him prior to the arrest. He looked at L, hoping he would give him some hint of what to do. L looked up at him, then back to the old man.

"We need to ask a few questions. He may be a witness to a crime that was committed 3 nights ago about 2 kilometers away." L responded.

"I heard something about that. How would he be a witness? He was at the market when that happened. I sent him to get garlic for dinner that night." the man responded.

"How long was he gone? And which way did he leave?" L asked.

"He was gone for an hour. And he went west. That's the direction of the market."

"As well as the direction of the crime scene. It was perfectly plausible for him to be on his way home and saw something out of the ordinary." L said. The old man looked at L and the captain with hesitation. He didn't know what they were really up to. After a few moments of concern he let out a sigh.

"Very well then, follow me." The grandfather turned around and walked into the main house. The captain took off his tabi, and walked into the house, seeing the main room, he noticed the sandals of another person. He nudged L, who looked at them. L leaned over to Toshiro and whispered in his ear.

"Size 10. Looks special ordered. He couldn't have gotten them from anywhere but the shinigami he killed." Toshiro nodded, and looked to the old man, now a few rooms ahead, and leading them to the suspect they knew was able to kill a shinigami. As they walked towards the room, Toshiro could sense a very minute amount of spiritual pressure. Either he was extremely weak, or deliberately hiding what pressure he had. Either way, he wouldn't be able to fight on the level of a captain. However, Toshiro did fear for L's safety in this case. He had absolutely no spiritual energy, after all.

"L, why don't you wait here, we don't need two investigators in the room at once. We don't want the witness feeling overwhelmed or as if he's being attacked." Toshiro looked in L's eyes with intent. L knew that wasn't the real reason, he suspected Toshiro was looking out for him.

"Of course." L responded. He took a few steps back as the captain slid the door open to the boy's room.

Inside, he saw a young boy, appearing to be about 19, meditating with a sword on the ground in front of him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ayonama." Shinsuhei looked at the captain, almost with anger.

"Well, its not every day I'm paid a visit from a captain. How can I help you?" Shinsuhei said with disgust. He clearly did not like shinigami, giving Toshiro even more reason to believe he was the killer.

"I was wondering if you had been a witness to something unusual. A murder occurred about 2 kilometers west of here. I heard that you had been to the market that night and I was wondering if you had saw something unusual." Toshiro asked. His voice was deep, he was on guard. At any second the boy might attempt to attack the young captain. He wouldn't win, but either way he didn't want to lose his only suspect. Shinsuhei looked at the captain with greater disdain.

"No, I'm afraid I didn't" He responded, lying clearly through his teeth.

"We found your blood and clothing at the crime scene." L chimed in inappropriately. "Your right sleeve in the clothing basket is torn, made of the same fiber and color as the torn clothing we found near the crime scene. The blood we have already matched to you, I bet we would be able to match the sandal you have near your front door with the same sandal as the shinigami who is now dead." L walked into the room and stared at the swordsman with accusing eyes. Shinsuhei looked at L, almost as if he would lash his sword out and lop L's head off then and there.

"I'm sorry, are you accusing me of something?" Shinsuhei asked, faking a surprised voice.

"That's it, leave this place immediately!" the old man yelled at the two detectives.

"No, grandfather, these two are only doing their jobs. They are keeping the streets clean of killers. Or at least the killers who have the courage to kill a shinigami. Meanwhile the ones who kill young women and children remain free, with no justice available to the true victims of this government." Shinsuhei said sarcastically.

"Either way, we're here for you." Toshiro said, knowing now was the chance to catch him. He started towards Shinsuhei, just as he grabbed his sword and junged at L abruptly. L ducked, Toshiro drawing his blade in time to block Ayonama's attack. L quickly drived his leg and body up, and into the jaw of his attacker, knocking him up and onto the ground. Ayonama quickly steadied himself back up, taking a guard stance and preparing for a fight. For a shinigami killer, this guy wasn't as tough as Toshiro thought he would be. L moved back, Toshiro taking point. Ayonama started to undercut Toshiro, who blocked the blade with his foot. This kid didn't even have enough spiritual energy, latent or active, to even cut Toshiro. Toshiro brought the hilt of his sword onto the top of Ayonama's head, knocking him unconscious.

"GET OUT OF HERE IMMEDIATELY!" the old man yelled.

"Sorry, but he attacked a shinigami and evidence shows that he killed a shinigami. We are taking him into custody." Toshiro said as he looked at the old man. Toshiro binded him with a Hadou, and picked him up.

"I wish there was something like that in the real world." L said. Handcuffs were completely unreliable, after all.

A/N: Again, I cannot apologize enough. I hope to find the ability to post a new chapter soon. I have had insomnia recently (and badly, might I add), so hopefully I will be able to use the spare time I have to update as much as possible. School is starting up soon. To everyone I wish good luck in the coming year.


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